Cowes to Selsey Bill

Boat Marks

The following marks are all in the public domain, none of these are "secret". They have been published in "Sea Angler" and "Fishing Marks for the Sea Angler" by Trevor Stewart. These are general areas each containing many local marks, and most anglers will find their own using a fishfinder to locate interesting banks and gullies.

Click here to view and download a UKHO Chart showing these marks

1. East and West Winner Banks, Langstone Harbour entrance. These banks extend south on either side of the entrance. The West Winner produces flatfish, small bream and shoal bass in summer. The East Winner is more dangerous as it dries at low tide, but a small and agile boat working close in to the breakers in suitable weather can connect with bass that chase bait fish into the surf. 
2. No Mans Land Fort and Horse Sand Fort stand either side of the main channel into the Eastern Solent.  Both can be excellent mackeral and bass marks, if you drift with care around the forts. Small pollack can also be taken close to the walls of the forts.
3. Stokes Bay. There are various marks along the drop-off as the shallow bay drops down to 80 feet and more into the channel. The tide runs very hard here and weed can be very troublesome - it is probably better as a winter mark when it is too rough outside.
4. The Blocks are what remains of a submarine barrier, marked by posts. Bass can be caught along the blocks, and plaice show up in Spring on the East side of the blocks.
5. Culver Spit. There are a number of marks along the rocky spit that extends from the white cliffs of Culver Cliff. Cod show in winter, with the usual summer species in the summer months. There is a deeper gulley south of the bank that holds fish.
6. Bullocks Patch. This holds bream from April onwards, and most species appear here at some time throughout the year. Some suprisingly large fish can be caught at times.
7. Deal Tail. This is the wreck of a coaster call Flag Theofano that sunk carrying a load of concrete. By the time salvage attempts started, the concrete had set hard and nothing could be done. Because the wreck is so close to the main shipping channel, it is marked by north and south cardinal buoys. It is an excellent summer mackeral mark, but mackeral shoal up in different areas from day to day so you may have to search around to find them. The wreck itself is teeming with small pollack and pouting.
8. Utopia is a series of gullies that are very good summer tope marks.
9. The Spoils is an area of rough ground and gullies. Look for any fish-holding bumps and gullies, and as this is a dumping ground be sure to trip your anchor as the bottom can be very snaggy.
10. Boulder Bank. An excellent bream mark from April onwards. The tide runs hard over the bank and floating weed can be a problem. Gullies to the north-west hold early tope and may be easier to fish if the tide is running hard.
11. South East of Pullar - a number of banks in the area hold good bass. Some banks closer inshore and further east hold plaice, but the area also has shallow banks so take care when exploring.
12. The Overfalls, an area of broken water where the tide runs hard. Some excellent ray and bass fishing.
13. New Grounds is an area of comparatively flat and featureless sea-bed, but good catches of bass, smoothound and ray can be had on the drift. This area is relatively sheltered from the prevailing south westerly winds.

Flash Earth Link

This link takes you to an aerial image of the Isle of Wight and the Solent. You can zoom and pan around and is useful for spotting rocks and sandbanks close inshore (sadly they don't publish images very far offshore).  Select the Microsoft VE version rather than Google, the shore features shown are better as the photos were taken at low tide.

Wreck Sites

Taken from the Wreck Database . More details on each of the following wrecks are available on the Wrecks Database, which has historical information and dive details that describe the condition of the wreck and orientation. 

• Bettan 50.40.170N 001.00.570W
• Camberwell 50.31.950N 001.02.800W
• Cuba 50.36.000N 000.58.580W
• Elford 50.38.080N 000.58.290W
• France Aimee 50.40.050N 001.03.160W
• Highland Brigade 50.34.500N 001.05.100W
• HMS Velox 50.41.310N 001.02.050W
• HMS Hazard 50.43.450N 001.03.140W
• Mendi 50.27.280N 001.19.540W
• P12 50.39.400N 001.05.000W
• Prince Leopold 50.34.580N 000.55.870
• Tweed 50.25.540N 001.19.360W
• Wapello 50.31.530N 001.01.070W
• War Knight 50.39.450N 001.31.020W
• Westville 50.34.180N 001.26.360W